All past years the calendars were free. Paying for something that was previously free is frustrating, not the price. Is ToZ now moving to a paid model? Are those who don't want to pay for anything second class members? I am seeing a lot of threads advertising paid stuff.
By the way, what happened to Maxine's declaration that spiritual knowledge and practices should be free and available for everyone? Is she now suddenly wrong
Knowledge is free, do you see these meditation sections and all these wonderful websites that have cost people time, effort, life deducted from their time, so you get this for free? Yes. Practices are free and available for everyone. Check.
Even what was given in the JoS was based on the concept that one can give; the JoS asked for donations to promote it. This was based upon conscience. Some people had that conscience and some did not. This was in turn, returned to the Community via what you call "Free", ie the work on this place. This already occurred. Check.
It was likely free to some because one sees it as such by not doing anything in return; but it was never really "Free". Others paid in blood for what you come around to assume is "theirs", for "Free" simply because one breathes. For anyone else of us it wasn't really "free", we saw both obligation and realistic cause to give and to do things for this place for the immense value it has given us.
What has changed since? Maturation. We incentivized Donations and we made sure that people who gave, gave for the best tools, reasons to give and with personal core benefits.
It's that now we are realistic and we want to actually evolve, and people understand they evolve by evolving others not empty statements about "your value" when one provided none and want maximum in return, no empty statements about "progression" when nothing is done for that progression, and no, the tourists will not be elevated higher spiritually than the folk who builds and contributes.
If you don't do: Outreach, help the community or Help the Temple or do anything whatsoever for the Community, one is doing nothing. They already get 1000 to 1 return by literally doing nothing. Don't be angry if others get 10000 to 1 return if they do things. It's how things go in the universe.
Incentivizing donations and creating an environment where those who give, are rewarded copiously with major tools, is very much consistent with this. At any rate in the years of the JoS, those who did the most, got out the most of this.
Those who act and do are always, no matter the level, clearly favored more by the Gods, than those who sit idly and do nothing whatsoever and just expect things to happen for them.